By Fr. John Adamski

The death of a priest says a great deal about life and also about priesthood. Certainly among the people most shocked by Monsignor Stapleton’s death were his brother priests. He was one of us and somehow his sudden death affected all of us in a very real way. Perhaps it reminded priests that the mystery of death which we frequently face with other people must not escape our own personal consciousness. As in many other aspects of ministry, the priest must be constantly growing in his own faith-position in order to be honestly and genuinely helping people with theirs.

Monsignor Stapleton was known to all his brother priests. Indeed, in our relatively small Atlanta archdiocese, our 70 priests at least know the names of all the others. Frequent clergy functions at the cathedral meant that we all met and visited with John Stapleton more often than many others.

Perhaps my clearest personal memory of him was his graciousness at the time of my ordination in May 1971. The ordination liturgy was celebrated at the cathedral and Msgr. Stapleton was most kind with all the arrangements as well as the needs of my family and guests that day.

The response of his brother priests to his death and their participation in his funeral said a great deal about John Stapleton, the man and the priest, but perhaps say even more about the priesthood itself. Catholic ministry is done within the context of a rich and long tradition. Nevertheless each priest reflects the particular person that he is in the way that he seeks to share his life and faith as one who serves others. We’re all familiar with somewhat different approaches to ministry because of the many varied people involved. The experience of the burial for one of our brothers in the priesthood stressed the common bond that we share rather than our different personalities. We expressed our shock to each other, “I just talked with John…”, etc. We prayed together at his wake and we concelebrated his funeral together. These events emphasized that, together with our archbishop, the priests of North Georgia share the one priesthood of Jesus Christ of the service of God’s people here.

The priest does not marry but dedicates his life to a larger family: the community of God’s people. This doesn’t mean that he must live as a lonely or isolated person. The mutual sharing and support among priests is an important and perhaps even crucial aspect of ministry. At times we may find it difficult to communicate that sort of concern for each other. Opening oneself demands a good measure of trust, something which is never easily achieved. Hopefully every priest experiences the support and concern of his fellow priests for his own needs.

Nor does this support involve only the personal dimension of the life of the priest. Many of us work together daily on parish teams or archdiocesan projects. Once again, the unity of the call to priesthood must help us to trust one another and work together to serve God’s people in our community.

Priests working together can play a very significant role within a community by the quality and style of their leadership. The unity of Christ’s priesthood should be essential enough in the life of the priest that it expresses itself in his ability to work with other priests as well as the whole community of the Church.

Certainly John Stapleton will be missed by his brother Atlanta priests. His death was a significant experience for all of us. His life may be an even more vital lesson: the example of a man giving as much of himself as he possibly could for the care of God’s people.

The packed cathedral at his funeral gave positive evidence of his effectiveness in that regard. We are untrue to his memory and his presence in our lives if we do not take up his work with renewed effort and honest faith.